I just refinished my deck (by myself) and thought I would share not only the good, but the bad, and the ugly and what I learned during the process. I think too many times the articles written on home improvement show only the good leaving the impression that it is easy but I think we learn as much or more from what goes wrong in the process so here is my story!
… It can happen just like that. All of a sudden you notice that your old deck looks bad, really bad. You know that you should have been cleaning and re-staining at least every 2 years but that didn’t happen. So here you are with a dilemma. Is the neglect so prevalent that you need to tear it down and start over or can it be saved? I’ll walk you through a series of questions to determine if your deck is worth saving. If it is then you can benefit from my journey -read on for tips on how to maintain it moving forward so that you can get several more years out of this old deck.
How Do I Know When To Replace My Deck?
The substrate that acts as the support for your deck is critical. Check your underneath side if you can get access to inspect the supporting boards to determine if they are still good. If there is significant rot throughout the substrate or the boards that attach the deck to your house it is best to tear it all down and start over.
If there is only minor damage and rot in a few places you may be able to repair them. Likewise, deck boards that are visible on the deck surface are more cosmetic and can be repaired.
The final decision will most likely be made when you compare the cost of replacing the deck and the cost of repairing it.
How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Deck?
When we downsized a few years ago to this house I checked and the substrate was in good shape but the surface boards were in need of repair and some had to be replaced. I was not crazy about the deck color as it was a little on the orange side but we really did not have $ in the budget for a new deck so opted to repair the deck boards and paint over the orange spindles, dark stain on the deck surface.
Cost for materials to replace this 10 ft. by 30 ft. deck can be calculated here. Add your areas going labor rate and you can determine if replacing the deck is right for you. Just remember that even if you are planning to repair the existing deck you will either need to add labor costs or plan on a DIY project.
Fast forward 7 years and no maintenance work you can guess that my deck was in pretty bad shape. See the photo at the top. I took this photo after hand sanding to remove some of the dark brown paint from the spindles just to see how difficult this project was going to be. So here we are again and while I have done a new kitchen remodel (more on that in a future post), a beautiful new wrought iron fence and garden gate entrance, exterior lighting, master bedroom and bath remodel, a new room for my grandkids, and a fireplace remodel, I still have not budgeted for the covered dream deck that I want so I need to get a few more years out of this one before that happens. Here is how it is done!
How Do You Save a Weathered Deck?
I will go step by step through the process I used to restore our deck but just want to give a quick disclaimer up front. I love DIY projects but this work is some of the most difficult I have ever done. I am in pretty good shape but not 30 anymore so just be aware that all of this labor can be outsourced too.
Step 1: Replace or Repair Deck Boards
After having inspected for substrate again ours was still in pretty good shape. The deck surface, however, was another story. It had several boards that needed to be replaced. The boards that we replaced several years ago were secured with screws but some of the original boards had nails that were coming loose. Those need to be replaced as well.
Aesthetic Design Decisions
The next step is to decide the look that you are going for before you begin the prep work . It is a lot less work if you are planning to paint over paint or stain over a light color. Neither of these scenarios were what I was up against. In our case I really missed seeing the grain of the wood shine through as you see in transparent and semi-transparent stains. The dark stain and paint color required for coverage of the orange color left an opaque finish that really left me wanting something different this time around. So this would need to be a process that paid attention to details and would be quite a bit of work to get the wood looking good enough to show through the transparency of the stain.
Step 2: Cleaning the Deck
Once the bad boards have been replaced it is good to do a thorough cleaning to remove dirt, grime, and debris from your deck. I bought an electric power washer last year and have to say it is one of the best purchases I have ever made to make your work easier and more effective. Just make sure that you do not exceed 1500 PSI to prevent damage to your wood. Most experts recommend between 1000-1500 PSI. Mine has a reservoir for cleaning solutions. Make sure that what you buy is compatible with your washer. The cleaning solution that I used is Krud Kutter Deck and Fence Pressure Washer Cleaner. I was very pleased with the results. Below is a photo of the deck after it was power washed and cleaned. As you can see though there is still a lot of work to be done before it is in shape to re-stain. I have a lot of trees that cover the deck and there was quite a bit of mildew and mold build up. The cleaning solution really did not remove it all. More about that in the bleach section.
Step 3: Stripping the Stain and Paint
Next up was stripping off the old stain and paint. This process turned out to be a learning experience with a lot of trial and error.
Our deck surface was stained a very dark walnut I selected to cover the orange color of the original stain on the deck when we bought the house. Below is the result of applying Valspar Wood Stripper for oil and latex finishes to the deck floor. Ours was an oil finish. I would say I was marginally pleased with the result. It did remove most of the stain on the deck boards.
The spindles were a different story. The spindles were painted a dark brown to cover the same orange color. At that time I had our contractor paint the spindles to avoid the tedious and expensive job of stripping them individually. BIG MISTAKE if you think you are ever going to want to stain them in the future! This is the result of the same stripper on the spindles…after several applications. Although it was recommended for both stain and paint removal I would not use it again for removing paint.
My backup plan. I ended up sanding each spindle one by one with an angle grinder since that was a tool I had from my welding days. It was a lot of work but I think the results were good.
I bought 80 grit flap discs to convert it to a sander. It worked surprisingly well on most of them except those closest to the support posts. Those were done with a detail sander that I purchased only after I discovered I had no other options. Here are the results after I started sanding the spindles. Much better.
Step 4: Brighteners, Bleaches, and More..
I was still not happy with the grey look of the deck boards and there was also still some residue of mildew on them. I elected to do a brightener which also neutralizes any stripper residue. This is very important to make sure the the new stain adheres properly to the wood. I chose Cabot Wood Brightener from Ace Hardware followed by Savogran Oxalic Acid for the dark black water stains. The boards are still wet here but you can see that some of the natural beauty of the wood is starting to show through.
After all of this I did another power wash and cleaning to make sure that the products were thoroughly washed from the surface.
Step 5: Sanding the Stubborn Areas
My final step before staining the deck was to sand the stubborn spots that were still noticeable after all of these applications. I borrowed a band sander from my neighbor and it softened those areas.
Step 6: Cleaning Prep for New Stain and Sealer
I did the sanding in a day so it was clean except for the sawdust. I swept all sawdust and a few fallen leaves that had dropped onto the deck as the last step before staining.
Step 7: New Stain and Sealer Application
I chose to use Ready Seal, an oil based product in the pecan color. It is a stain and sealer in one and is knows as the goof proof product with beautiful results. I came to this decision after much research online. I love the idea of one application for both the stain and sealer. I also love the idea that this brand requires only a cleaning and a new stain application can go right on top of the old finish if you do this every other year as part of your ongoing maintenance program. I have a painter that has done much work for me that will use nothing but oil based paints and stains because he feels the results are so much better and more durable. I have to say that the work he has done for me outlasts any other work from previous contractors.
So here are the results of my project. I am happy with the color. It went on like a dream. No pools of stain and just was so easy to apply. It looks more red in the photos than it appears in reality. It has more of a light brown tone which I like. I still see some imperfections in the wood but I felt that the results will give me a couple more years of life for this old deck until I am ready for a new build. It only received one coat as I had a family gathering the following weekend. I believe I will go back over it this fall with another coat and I do think that will give it a deeper coverage.
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